Coordination needed to address humanitarian crisis

In the face of almost overwhelming humanitarian need, it was imperative that relief organisations in Angola coordinated their activities, said the Red Cross.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said that since the ceasefire agreement of 4 April, the security guarantees it had received from the government and rebel UNITA enabled it to work in areas formerly off limits.

However, the presence of mines, the poor condition of roads and the risk of attack by bandits continued to hamper its movements, the ICRC said in a statement.

The ICRC said: "Large numbers of people are now coming out of the bush to wait for assistance in areas designated by their leaders. Many of these people, who have been living in harsh conditions for months or even years, suffer from severe malnutrition and other health problems requiring professional care."

Given the extent of the crisis, the ICRC said, "no single organisation can provide sufficient food aid or address the protection needs of residents and displaced persons alike". It was imperative then that humanitarian agencies in Angola made a "concerted effort to coordinate their activities so as to save as many lives as possible".

During the Angolan civil war thousands of families were torn apart.

"This has left many people – including hundreds of unaccompanied children – with no news of their relatives. In close cooperation with the Angola Red Cross, the ICRC has stepped up its activities to restore family links in 10 provinces (Huambo, Bié, Moxico, Huila, Benguela, Cuando-Cubango, Uíge, Cuanza Norte, Cuanza Sul and Luanda), the aim being to cover the remaining eight provinces as soon as possible," the organisation said.

With the cooperation of respective National Societies, the ICRC was also running a tracing network in refugee camps in Zambia, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

"Since the beginning of the year, 17 children have been reunited with their families," the ICRC said.

Meanwhile, the organisation continues to carry out regular food distributions in Huambo to over 38,000 beneficiaries. The ICRC was also supporting the central hospital in Huambo. "With more and more people coming in from remote areas, the number of children admitted to the hospital has risen to a monthly average of 2,000," the organisation said.

In addition, the ICRC regularly provided six health centres with basic medicines.